Of Two Worlds
by MateriaFlower1-1
Summary: Blue and shimmering, distorted and wide, the Cocoon that Snow saw through the crystal teardrop was nothing like the one he'd known his whole life... A series of oneshots focusing on the life and romance of Snow and Serah.
1. 083 Summer

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XIII_**

_Enjoy!_

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_083\. Summer_

Summer in Bodhum, Serah quickly decided, would be worth the price of moving here alone. Even if it wasn't home, or the city, or near her friends, the white sand and blue sky and the trees bursting with life were worth it all. The heat didn't make lugging in the boxes any easier, though.

Serah groaned aloud, her grunts filling the silence. "Come… on…" She hefted up one box, probably filled with Lightning's weapons, she thought with a burst of irritation, and hauled it up the stairs and into their flat.

She almost dropped it onto the shiny wooden floor, and then turned to go and get the next box in. If only Light hadn't had to start back at work this early, she thought to herself, then this whole thing might be a thousand times easier. If only she still had her parents though, she acknowledged with a pang of longing, then she might not have had to do this at all.

She was so occupied in her own mind that she didn't even notice the person amongst the forest of boxes at all.

"Hey! Careful there!"

Serah almost screamed in shock, her body convulsing and her eyes growing to double their normal size as she turned to the source of the voice.

She stared at him and wasn't sure if it was the shock or his appearance that made it so hard to breathe. He was handsome, tall, with a wide smile that only really seemed to open over one side of his mouth. His eyes sparkled mischievously blue; as though he was just a young boy encased in a much larger body.

"I- I'm sorry." She carried on looking at him as she slowly righted herself. "Can I help you at all?"

He grinned again, and chuckled. He seemed to like doing that a lot. "No, not really. I was actually wondering if I could help you."

Serah frowned. How did he even know they were moving up here? The trees almost completely shielded them from the beach. But she pushed the suspicious thoughts aside. Light didn't have to know about this. She smiled at the man. "Yes, please." She watched as he bent down to pick up a box. "If you're not busy, of course!"

"Busy? In a place like this?" He laughed over his shoulder as he meandered cooly to the stairs. "You've gotta be kidding me." He laughed up the stairs, and Serah couldn't help but let out a shy little laugh at the infectious sound.

She picked up another box - thankfully lighter than the last - as he reappeared.

"I forgot — we haven't done names yet." He outstretched a large hand. "I'm Snow."

"Snow?"

"Yeah, I know. Weird for a beach town, isn't it?"

Serah found herself laughing shyly again. "No, I like it."

"Oh yeah?"

She nodded. "I think it suits you." She shuffled the box in her arms and took the hand. "I'm Serah."

"Pretty."

Serah laughed and turned away. "I bet you say that to all the girls."

"Only the really pretty ones!" He called back as she was halfway up the stairs.

She knew that he probably really did say that to all the girls he met, but she couldn't help but be pulled into conversation with him as they worked together. She quickly discovered that he was a little older than her, a bartender by trade, and from this very town - but he lived in the bar house with his friends.

"You should come over, this evening."

"This evening?" Serah smiled, setting down the final box. But at a glance over her sister's name, her face dropped slightly. "Oh, um-" She scoured her brain for an excuse. "My sister wanted to eat here tonight. You know, just the two of us. As a moving-in type celebration." Serah didn't actually know what Lightning would want to do this evening, or even when she'd be back.

"You sister, huh?"

Serah nodded, and smiled. "She's a little quiet, and quite strict, but she loves me more than I think she can say."

Snow tilted his head. "And you?"

"She's my best friend." Serah shrugged simply. "I couldn't have asked for a better sister."

It was the simple answer she always gave, but it was true. The two were as close as sisters could be - just not in the way that everyone expected. Lightning could be strict, but it was only because she loved Serah so much. And Serah could be needy, but that was only because she wanted to make sure that Lightning was safe. It was just how the two of them worked together.

"Then you should come over tomorrow evening."

"Really?"

"Sure! I'll introduce you to everyone. I bet they'll all want to meet you."

Serah smiled widely, and for the first time in her life wished that she could ditch Lightning for the evening. She felt this unspeakable pull towards Snow; she was desperate to spend more time with him, get to know him better. But tomorrow evening would have to do.

"I'd love that." She turned to the box of kitchenware and pulled out some glasses. "Want a drink?"

"If it means I can spend more time here, then sure."

Serah laughed again, filling up the glasses. She hadn't laughed this much in a long time, and she somehow felt freer than she had done in months.

They talked about anything and everything, until the sun had long since started to make the apartment glow with a fierce fire.

"What time is it?" Serah asked suddenly, as Snow watched her move around the kitchen boxes, trying to find the clock.

"Would it help if I said I had a watch on?"

Serah looked at him and tilted her head to the side. "What do you think?"

"It's just gone half six."

"Huh." It'd been almost eight hours since they'd met. Eight hours of talking and laughing and just sitting happily together.

"I know. When you get talking to people you like, time just whizzes by."

Serah gave a light chuckle. "Yeah. I guess so."

"I'd better go."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. To work."

Serah clapped a hand to her forehead and turned away. "Right."

Snow walked over to her and handed her the glass. "Here." She took it wordlessly, but looked up at the man before her. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

Serah gave a smile, but she knew that she'd rather he stayed with her until who knows when. "Yeah, tomorrow."

The air was thick as he hovered before her, but he turned and left without another word; only a smile.

Serah collapsed back onto the kitchen counter behind her as he left, and looked over the trees and the beach and the ocean and the fiery sky.

This was turning out to be a summer to remember.

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	2. 085 Cool

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XIII_**

_Enjoy!_

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_085\. Cool_

Serah went to the bar on the second day she was in Bodhum. It was exactly the kind you'd picture on the beach; palm trees leaning on it, a leafy ceiling and wooden walls that made her think of the elaborate tree houses she'd dreamed up as a child.

"Hey, you came!" It was her voice that greeted her as she walked into the building with a tentative step. She searched for him and found him a way off, behind the bar. He was giving her that grin she'd come to expect from him, and a hand raised in Welcome before he got back to making whatever potion it was in the glasses before him.

"Yep." She walked over, nervously, and slid onto one of the stools, looking around the place.

Warm, comfortable and welcoming, it seemed to match the ambience of the town. It made Serah wonder if Lightning ever would have chosen this place if she hadn't been stationed here. A dozen faces looked at her, smiling, and kind.

"It's pretty empty tonight," Snow said, as he came back over to her, having given the strangely coloured drinks to the retreating beachgoers. "Want one?"

"Uh, no. Thank you." She declared hesitantly. She'd never had a chance to go to college in the city, never been able to go out to the wild high school parties. She'd never drank so much as what was required at toasts before in her life. She couldn't help but see the irony in her being so infatuated with a Bartender, then. And infatuated she was.

She watched him distractedly as he shrugged, and moved a few things around behind the bar that she couldn't see. She admired the way his the muscles in his arms moved and twitched and flexed under his skin, how the veins stuck out ever so slightly, and how his eyes were so focused on what he was doing before him…

She barely registered when he walked around the bar to stand next to her. Flustered, she only just caught what he said to her in that kind, rumbling voice.

"Here, come down this side. I'll introduce you to everyone." He gestured for her to move towards a humble gathering of smiling faces she'd seen before.

"Hey everybody." They moved to turn to Snow, with just one use of his commanding voice. With a mental scolding, she blinked rapidly and focused back on the conversation at hand, tearing her eyes away from Snow. "This is Serah. She and her sister are new to the area."

She smiled at the crowd. She could still feel the heat that seemed to radiate from him, and smell that slightly sugary scent of perhaps fruit juices on his skin.

"I'm Lebreau, I own this place." The only woman smiled at her with a wave. "I'll make sure that Snow doesn't hit on you too much."

Serah only just caught the giggle behind her hand.

"I'm Gadot," the tall, imposing man said, reaching out a hand as the orange hair on his head wafted slightly in the breeze. Serah took the hand and was surprised by how light his grip was. "These two brats are Yuj and Maqui."

He waved a noncommittal hand over at the other two boys - one with long, blue hair, the other with goggles and an almost manic looking smile, black oil - or maybe grease - in his blonde, spiky hair.

Together, Serah decided, they made an odd bunch. And Snow was most definitely the handsomest.

She risked a glance back up at him as the two boys made arguments in their defence - that Yuj was, after all, the same age as Lebreau, and that they never woulda made anything without Maqui. But it seemed as though their arguments fell on deaf ears.

Blushing when she realised, it appeared that Snow had had his attention focused on Serah; Lebreau had gone over to the bar, taking a cloth from the belt pocket that was almost as long as her skirt, and resuming polishing glasses. For his part, Gadot had taken a book out of his pocket and was reading it - or perhaps more accurately, 'reading' it - and held a hand up to the younger boys.

"Together", Macqui explained to Serah, after Yuj heaved a dramatically heavy sigh and turned away, "we form NORA."

"NORA?"

Snow shifted next to her. "We get together, protect the village."

Serah frowned, and cocked her head. "Isn't that what the army's for?" Lebreau made a distance scoffing noise, and Serah felt her heart clench very slightly. It wasn't in her nature to anger quickly - but that could be different, when it came to Lightning.

"Her sister's part of the new recruits, Lebreau." Snow's voice was slightly lower than usual, and warning. He was just so cool…

Lebreau stopped, and turned to face them. She looked at Snow searchingly, in that way that Serah remembered her mother doing, and nodded. "Fine."

"Anyway, it's not that the army's doing a bad job- shut up Gadot. It's just that there are some places us locals only know about."

"That's one way of putting it." Gadot scoffed.

Serah could feel her heart start to pound and a very faint blush grown on her cheeks.

Snow sighed. "Hey Lebreau, am I alright to leave for a bit?"

Serah was shocked from her anger-induced trance at his words, and turned her head sharply to look up at him.

Lebreau nodded, with a sweet smile. Serah couldn't tell if it was genuine or fake.

Snow looked at Serah and jerked his head outside. He took her out to the waterfront, and they strolled down the beach together, for a while with a comfortable but empty conversation, and then with a calm silence as the sun began to set behind the water, bathing the beach in a fiery, rosy glow.

All the other dates she'd ever been on had ended in silence. That awkward kind of silence, where you rehearse things to say in your mind, but then they get stuck in your throat as you're about to say the words because suddenly the ensuing, boring conversation, just doesn't seem worth it. But the silence that had fallen between the two was nice; it washed over them like the waves lapped against the smooth sand. She didn't feel the need to say anything - just being was enough. That ultimate comfort that she'd only ever really felt with her family before.

It was one of the most refreshing things she'd ever felt.

"Sorry about the guys, earlier." He leant forward as the pair of them sat on the sand, watching the waves roll in and out like the ocean was breathing as it dreamt deeply, spilling water here and there as it sighed in delight.

Serah shook her head. "It's okay. I guess Lightning was brought here for a reason."

Snow stayed silent. Serah thought that was probably for the best.

"I've known Gadot since we were 6. Yuj since he was twelve, and Lebreau since she moved here five years ago."

Shifting slightly to watch as he spoke, Serah examined his face closely. Oh god, he was just so hot. A strong jaw with a vague hint of deep blonde stubble, a straight nose and always slightly upturned lips. And his eyes, that sparkled with the giggling, jumping water. And that were looking at her.

"What?" He said it with a laugh, as though he already knew full well what she was doing. The fact that he probably did made Serah's heart squeeze and she turned back out to the ocean. Clearing her throat just a little, she took a deep breath and prompted him to carry on.

"What about Maqui?"

"Oh - him?" Snow chuckled to himself. "I only met him a year and a half ago. Shy little kid. He barely had any friends, but I called on his house one day, told him he should come to our picnic on the beach. The poor kid showed up with half a dozen things he'd baked and the shiest, most painfully awkward expression I've ever seen on his face." He laughed happily at the memory.

Serah couldn't help but laugh along with him.

She watched him, as the sun finally gave in and slipped beyond the end of the everlasting ocean, and night overtook the fiery sky.

He was handsome, sure. And it would've made all her friends back home insanely jealous to see her sitting here with him, like they were two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle fitting together. But beyond all that, he was just so kind. As he carried on, talking about all the memories he'd had with his friends over the years, she could hear in his voice just how much he cared about them. How much he cared about everyone.

He _really_ was cool.

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	3. 014 Loyal

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XIII_**

_Enjoy!_

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_014\. Loyal_

Blue and shimmering, distorted and wide, the Cocoon that Snow saw through the crystal teardrop was nothing like the one he'd known his whole life. He hadn't even really known they lived on the inside of a planet before he saw it from here, not having exactly spent loads of time in school when he was younger. It was Serah who'd taught him more about the world, in all senses of its meaning. For someone so small, so unassuming, she could be so powerful. Sometimes even the smallest thing she'd say would send him reeling for days.

He'd fallen in love with her before he even knew what love was. He'd watched it happen in the movies, seen what it did to friends, but nothing compared to that feeling he had one day when, looking into her eyes so wide and beautiful and hopeful, he'd found himself existing in an entirely different state of being. She hadn't even been doing anything, just sipping on a drink, maybe, listening to Lebreau's latest date disaster, and Snow knew then, in that very moment, he wanted her doing nothing like that at his side, forever. It was that love, that driving, burning, eternal love that kept him going. Every step he took was for her. Every battle he fought was to save her. Every time he went forwards when every inch of his body screamed at him to stop, it was for her. It was all for her.

Serah had been the one to defend him to Lightning the first time they'd met. It'd been her who had defended his less than authodox path in life, not him. He hadn't even had to say anything before Serah was the one fighting his corner, standing up to the big sister who was both that and more to the woman he loved. And she'd been fierce. It'd been a wonder, standing there, watching this girl, this girl he'd only known six short months, defending him as though her life depended on it. Funny thing was, he knew he'd do the exact same if the roles were reversed.

But here he was, looking through her tear at his distorted home planet. It looked ugly, through the crystal. Snow must've been on the habit of doing this five or six times a day by now. He did it so often that Sazh had stopped commenting and Fang had given up the jokes. Looking through her tear, it just reminded him of how much more he had to fight, but exactly why he wouldn't give up. The love he still held for her burnt like a passionate, loyal flame in his chest. He wouldn't ever give up, and that flame would never be extinguished.

"How's Serah?"

He heard Lightning tramp through the grass before he saw her.

"Same as we left her." And he put the crystal down, the end digging sharply into his palm.

He wouldn't ever let her down. He wouldn't ever stop chasing the next solution. Just as he wouldn't ever stop loving her: that, he knew.

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